Austin bypass proceeding as toll road

| Wednesday, November 29, 2006

A federal judge has thrown out an environmental lawsuit that
was blocking a Central Texas toll road from being built.

The Federal Highway Administration made revisions to an
environmental study that was being challenged in court by the Save Our Springs
Alliance, and those revisions satisfied a judge enough to toss out the case.

The original $454.3-million contract was signed in August
2004 between the state and Zachry Construction, but that contract has been
scrapped in the process. A new contract and settlement costs are in the works,
according to the Austin American-Statesman.

New costs are estimated at $170 million, the newspaper
reported, with property acquisition to cost an additional $40 million.

Save Our Springs had filed the lawsuit citing environmental
concerns for springs, trees and property, but opposing parties reached a
compromise with the revised environmental study.

Toll rates have not yet been determined, but an earlier
report by the state estimated the rate at about 12 cents per mile for cars.
Estimated truck tolls were not reported.